Cholesterol lowering guide

Learn what you can do to
lower cholesterol with simple
easy hints and tips that fit
into your everyday life!
Cholesterol
Lowering
Guide
24653 Flora Cholesterol Lowering Guide 18.10.13 10.09.indd 1 2013/10/18 3:26 PM

Introduction
Cholesterol plays a vital role in the
day-to-day functioning of your body.
However, too much cholesterol in the
blood can affect your heart health.
The good news is that lowering it, and
keeping it at the recommended level, is
much simpler than you might think.
*Consuming 2 – 2.5g plant sterols can lower cholesterol by up to 15% in 3 weeks/21 days when combined with a healthy diet and lifestyle.
Highcholesterolisariskfactorinthedevelopmentofheartdisease.Asheartdiseasehasmultipleriskfactors,youmayneedtoimprovemore
than one to reduce your overall risk.
For some people, medication may be
needed to lower cholesterol but in many
cases cholesterol can be lowered just
by making the right diet and lifestyle
changes.
A healthy balanced diet is important
for everyone and can lower cholesterol
by up to 5%. Plant sterols (the active
ingredient in Flora pro.activ) are
clinically proven to lower cholesterol by
up to 15%* as part of a healthy diet and
lifestyle.
Making these simple changes can be an
effective, fulfilling and enjoyable way of
lowering your cholesterol and improving
your health…now!
To help you on your cholesterol lowering
journey, we’ve created this booklet to
give you some top tips and to help you
track the changes you are making to your
diet and lifestyle.
Enjoy!
01

02
Lowering
your cholesterol
What is
cholesterol?
Eating too much
saturated fat is the most
common cause of high
cholesterol, although
there are lots of other
factors that can affect
blood cholesterol levels.
Cholesterol travels around the bloodstream in
special carriers:
l LDL (‘bad’) cholesterol – takes cholesterol
from the liver to the body tissues. To
maintain a healthy heart, people should try
to keep their ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol at a lower,
healthy level.
l HDL (‘good’) cholesterol – returns cholesterol
back to the liver where it is eliminated. This
is the type of cholesterol that helps keep
the heart healthy and people should try to
maintain it at a high level.
How can I reduce my cholesterol
levels?
l Reduce your intake of (bad) saturated and
trans fats and replace them with (good)
monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.
l To increase your ‘good’ cholesterol, keep
active and aim to do at least 30 minutes of
exercise every day.
l Be the right weight and shape. Carrying too
much fat around your middle (‘apple-shape’)
is associated with greater heart health
Flora pro.activ
and plant sterols
Plant sterols in Flora pro.activ products
are clinically proven to significantly lower
cholesterol. High cholesterol is a risk factor
in the development of coronary heart
disease.*
Plant sterols naturally occur in small
quantities in vegetable oils, nuts, seeds,
grain products, fruit and vegetables, but you
would need to eat 150 apples, 210 carrots
or 425 tomatoes to get the same optimum
daily amount of plant sterols as just 25g of
Flora pro.activ spread.
A healthy diet is essential when you want to
lower your cholesterol and there’s no better
food at lowering cholesterol than Flora pro.
activ.
problems than if you are carrying excess
weight on your hips (‘pear-shape’).
l Incorporate 2-2.5g of plant sterols
into your diet each day.
150
apples
210
carrots
425
tomatoes
*Asheartdiseasehasmultipleriskfactors,youmayneedtoimprovemorethanonetoreduceyouroverallrisk.
Consuming 2-2.5g of sterols per day can lower cholesterol by up to 15% in 3 weeks/21 days when combined
with a healthy diet and lifestyle.
CLINICALLYPROVEN

The
Flora pro.activ
range
Taking control of your cholesterol may seem to
be very challenging, but with the help of Flora
pro.activ, it doesn’t have to be hard.
How does Flora pro.activ work?
Flora pro.activ is different to
other spreads as it contains
plant sterols, which are
clinically proven to actively
lower cholesterol. Plant sterols
actively remove cholesterol
from the body by partly blocking
the absorption of cholesterol
in the gut. Cholesterol that
isn’t absorbed is then removed
from the body, resulting in a
lowering of total and bad (LDL)
cholesterol levels.
For optimum cholesterol
lowering, 2-2.5g of plant sterols need to be
consumed daily. By consuming Flora pro.activ
spread daily you can reach this level. 25g of
Flora pro.activ Spread, can provide you with an
optimum amount of plant sterols every day.
How do I add 25g to my diet?
Tip 1: to make sure you get the most out of
Flora pro.activ, make sure that you use it only
for yourself and those in the family with high
cholesterol. It may mean that
you need to add your Flora pro.
activ right at the end just before
you dish up your food. This will
help to ensure that you receive
the right amount of Flora pro.
activ for you.
Tip 2: 5g of Flora pro.activ is
equal to 1 level 5ml measuring
spoon or ½ a rounded teaspoon
(as the image shows).
Flora pro.activ Spreads:
Eaten with your meal, it’s all you need to get
the recommended amount of plant sterols. Try
it on a sandwich or stirred into hot vegetables.
03
CLINICALLY
PROVEN

The effects of unhealthy diet and physical
inactivity may lead to:
l raised blood pressure
l raised blood glucose
l raised blood lipids (including raised
cholesterol)
l overweight and obesity
High Cholesterol:
a key risk factor
for developing
heart disease
Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death globally.
The most important risk factors of heart disease
are:
l unhealthy diet
l physical inactivity
l smoking
l harmful use of alcohol
behavioural
risk factors
underlying
causes
Reference:WHOFactsheetN°317Cardiovasculardiseases(CVDs),September2011http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/
fs317/en/index.html
High
blood pressure
Being overweight
or obese
unhealthy diet
physical inactivity
smoking
globalisation poverty
urbanisation stress
population ageing
intermediate
risk factors
04

05
Food
Shopping
Sometimes it feels like eating healthily is all about eating less. But actively lowering your
cholesterol doesn’t have to be about cutting things out of your diet. You may be surprised to know
that enjoying your jacket potato or bread with a generous topping of Flora pro.activ is healthier than
not using a spread at all. That’s because every time you eat Flora pro.activ its plant sterols work
inside your body to filter out the bad cholesterol.
Ten Tips for a cholesterol lowering diet
1. Know your fats – Saturated fats such as those found in butter, full fat dairy and fatty
meat should be avoided or at least limited because they can increase your level of bad
cholesterol. Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats are healthier and can be found in
foods such as nuts, seeds, avocado, soft spreads and oily fish.
2. Choose low fat dairy foods – fat free or low fat milk, low fat yoghurt and reduced fat
cheese. Use low fat yoghurt instead of cream when cooking or making desserts.
3. Opt for fish and poultry over fatty meat products, which can be high in unhealthy
fats. Try substituting some meat with beans or lentils.
4. Include oily fish, such as pilchards, salmon, trout or herring, that’s high in heart healthy
Omegas, once or twice a week.
5. Get plenty of fibre in your diet – swap white bread and pasta for brown and wholegrain
varieties. Oats, vegetables, fruits and pulses such as beans and lentils are also great
sources of fibre.
6. Get your five-a-day – eat a mix of fruit and vegetables to get the vitamins, minerals and
fibre you need. The more colourful your meals are, the more likely you are to be getting the
nutrients you need.
7. Include plant sterols – these are found at low levels in everyday foods like fruits,
vegetables and cereals. But to get a significant cholesterol lowering effect, you need to eat
foods enriched with plant sterols like Flora pro.activ.
8. Try to use seed or nut oils instead of butter – oils from seeds and nuts are rich in
‘healthy’ fats. Switch from butter to a good quality margarine, such as Flora pro.activ,
which is made from these fats.
9. Snack on nuts and seeds instead of cakes and biscuits. Why not make up your own
mix of seeds, nuts and dried fruit for healthy snacking at your fingertips?
10. Eat no more than five grams of salt a day. Experiment with herbs and spices instead
and avoid salty snacks like crisps, which are also usually high in bad fats which can raise
your cholesterol.

06
Exercise
and lifestyle
Everyday exercise
Try to do 30 minutes of moderate exercise
a day. You can break it into three 10-minute
sessions throughout the day if you like. Start
with what you can and build your way up, you’ll
be surprised by how responsive your body is!
Even everyday activities can be
turned into moderate exercise.
Put in extra energy to get your
heart-rate going:
l Walking
l Gardening
l House work
l Washing the car
The more active you are the better.
Quick tricks that really help:
l Take the stairs instead of the escalator
l Get off the bus a stop early and walk
l Park the car further from where you’re going
l Walk briskly instead of strolling
There are also simple changes you
can make to your lifestyle:
l Avoid smoking
l Maintain a healthy weight and shape
l If you drink alcohol, do it in moderation
l Learn to control stress and relax

07
Dietary changes
and statins,
working together
Statins and Cholesterol
Statins are the most commonly prescribed
medication for high cholesterol. Statins work by
inhibiting the production of cholesterol.
The lower the better
When it comes to LDL cholesterol, you want
to reduce your level as much as possible for a
healthy heart.
What you may not realise is that you can enjoy
further LDL cholesterol reductions on top of
statins by moving to a healthier diet and by
incorporating products which contain plant
sterols into your diet.
In fact, combining your statins with a move to
a healthy diet and lifestyle (and plant sterol
enriched foods) can lower LDL-cholesterol by up
to 40% as opposed to 25% average for Statins
alone.
Flora pro.activ and statins –
working together
If you are taking cholesterol lowering
medication you can include plant sterol
enriched foods like Flora pro.activ in your diet.
Plant sterols provide additional cholesterol
lowering benefits on top of cholesterol lowering
medication – because they work in a different
way, actively removing cholesterol from
the body by partly blocking the absorption
of cholesterol in the gut. Combining your
medication with plant sterol enriched foods
and a move to a healthy diet will maximise your
cholesterol lowering.
LDL-cholesterolreduction,%
0
-10
-20
-30
-40
Chen et al, Lipids 2009; Cleghorn et al, EJCN 2003, Jones et al, AJCN 1999;
Katan et al, Mayo Clin Proc 2003; Edwards Moore, BMC Family Practice 2003
Cholesterol-lowering effect of phytosterols
is additive to healthy diet statins
healthy diet* healthy diet*
plant sterol-
enriched
foods**
healthy diet*
Statin
treatment
plant sterol-
enriched
foods**
*low in saturated fat and cholesterol
**2-3 g/day of plant sterols in the form of enriched foods

Now keep it low
If you’ve been following the tips in this booklet,
not only have you made a positive change to
your cholesterol level but hopefully you’re also
feeling a bit fitter and healthier overall.
Sticking to change can be hard but keep at it…
don’t worry if you have the occasional slip – it
happens to us all, and it’s no reason to give up
your good habits entirely. The main thing is that
most days you are sticking to your new healthy
diet and lifestyle.
Make sure you go back to your health care
professional to get your cholesterol rechecked -
and understand what difference your hard work
has made to your cholesterol level.
Have a conversation about the changes you’ve
made and agree how you will stick to these long
term.
For cholesterol lowering hints, tips and recipes
and to see how hundreds of people like you
have lowered their cholesterol with Flora
pro.activ, visit www.florastrongheart.co.za
08

NOTES
09

10

Track your
Progress
Heart (2005) Joint British Societies’ Guidelines on the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in Clinical Practice.
Published by the BMU, London 2005
Using the advice in this booklet and guidance
from your health care professional set some
specific goals on the changes you will make to
your diet lifestyle to lower your cholesterol.
Top Tip!
Keep your goals realistic and look for small
changes you can incorporate into your
everyday life – setting goals which are too
stretching can make them difficult to stick
to, so strike a balance.
My Cholesterol Levels My Results Target
Dates
Total Cholesterol Less than 5.0 mmol/l
LDL Cholesterol Less than 3.0 mmol/l
My goals
Exercise (e.g. start swimming once a week and walking briskly for 30 minutes every other day)
Eat less of (e.g. only have chocolate at weekends, not every day)
Eat more of (e.g. have oily fish twice a week and get my 5 a day of fruit and vegetables)
My key food swaps (e.g. use Flora pro.activ spread and switch from cheese to chicken salad
sandwiches at lunchtime)

Cholesterol lowering guide

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (18)

Similar to Cholesterol lowering guide

Similar to Cholesterol lowering guide (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Cholesterol lowering guide